Pointillism: 30 Examples of Stunning Dot Art

Pointillism refers to the artistic technique of using a series of dots applied in patterns to create an image. Unlike other artistic techniques such as Trompe l’oeil, pointillistic art should be viewed up close to truly appreciate the detail involved and the color combinations applied.

Tattoos are one of the more common forms of Pointillism, as they use a tattoo gun to make a series of dots when creating body art.

Often mesmerizing, the classics were typically oil paintings, while more modern techniques featured in this article range from using sugar sprinkles to plastic bottles and even crayons. Pointillism is a timeless art form, and this article aims to show you thirty of the most stunning pieces of Pointillistic art you are likely to ever see!

01 Hero, Miguel Endara

Source: Miguel Endara

Miguel Endara is a talented artist from Miami, Florida who uses the Pointillism technique in his artwork. He drew ‘Hero’ in 2011, using a total of 3.2 million dots! It took Endara 210 hours to complete this piece of artwork, and he did it all using just one pen - a Sakura Pigma Micron! Hero is a stunning piece of Pointillistic art, showcasing the models character and the detail involved in this art technique. Visit Miguel’s website to watch an insightful video of him drawing Hero from start to finish!

02 Timbri Su Carta, Federico Pietrella

Source: Federico Pietrella

Federico Pietrella was born in Rome in 1973, and now lives and works in Berlin. Pietrella has created many stunning pieces of artwork using the Pointillism technique, but ‘Timbri Su Carta’ has to be one of our favorites! The amount of detail visible in the artwork is stunning, and you can’t help but admire the focus required by Pietrella to bring this beautiful piece to life.

03 The Awakening, Pablo Jurado Ruiz

Source: Pablo Jurado Ruiz

Born in Malaga, Spain in 1973, Pablo grew up watching his Grandfather create art in his studio. On his website, he recalls, ‘I scribbled figures on papers and tried to imitate him, staining a small canvas he always kept for me.’ It seems this exposure to art at a young age has allowed his talents to flourish. Pablo continues to create stunning pieces of Pointillistic art by drawing upon inspiration from stories and his ability to bring his drawings to life through simple dot art.

04 Incense Series, Jihyun Park

This incredible piece of artwork was created by Korean student Jihyun Park, who used incense sticks to burn tiny holes into rice paper. His project consists of some beautiful drawings using this odd, but excellent technique. He recently spoke of his inspiration for his artwork, “It is my hope that the ‘moments’ I capture of my subjects are ones when they are at their most ideal – real utopias. While drawing them with the incense, I am ‘holding’ a split moment of harmony in my hands.”

05 Happy Youth, Romer & Romer

Source: Romer & Romer

Romer & Romer are a German-Russian couple who live and work from Berlin, Germany. They often use Pointillism in their beautiful, vibrant, and colorful paintings. Their dot work goes into incredible detail, and you can stare at their work for hours as you find new characters and gems in their stunning artwork. The Happy Youth at Brighton piece almost looks like pixelated art, but it is, in fact, an oil painting. The Brighton scene is brought to life using incredible depth and wonderful colors, making it one of our favorite Pointillism pieces.

06 Mao and Rabbit Girls, Cao Xiaodong

Source: Cao Xiadong

Measuring 1.8 meters by 1.8 meters, Mao and Rabbit Girls is one of the largest paintings in Cao Xiaodong revered collection. The sheer size of this painting alone is worth admiration, given the amount of time and concentration it would have taken Cao to complete this beautiful piece. The Chinese artists found inspiration from America’s Sexual Revolution and China’s cultural revolution, both in the 1960’s. The purple and yellow give life to this otherwise black and white photo of a 1960’s scene, making it a stunning look back into the past.

07 Catalogue of the Exhibition “Cartones,” Joan Miro

Source: Joan Miro

Joan Miro, a famous Spanish painter from Barcelona found inspiration in the scenic seaside town he called home and began working on art from a young age. Miro created this stunning piece, titled ‘Catalogue of the Exhibition Cartones’ in 1965. Using the Pointillism technique, Miro drew an abstract image comprised of thousands of colorful dots. This piece has become a timeless classic of Pointillistic art, thanks to the incredible detail and vibrant colors.

08 Pixelated Beagle, Joel Brochu

Source: Joel Brochu

It’s almost impossible to tell from looking at this piece of artwork, but the Pixelated Beagle is made up of more than 220,000 sprinkles! That’s right, those little sugar coated sprinkles you might find in the dessert aisle have been cleverly used here by Joel Brochu to create a stunning piece of art. The Pixelated Beagle is best viewed from a distance, but it’s also worth getting up close to appreciate just how much detail and effort has gone into bringing this piece to light. A real piece of modernistic pointillism.

09 Moon Rising behind gnarled tree, Catherine Bath

Source: Catherine Bath

Catherine Bath is a talented nature-loving artist from Pennsylvania. She loves meditative painting; it’s a great practice for slowing down and being fully present in an otherwise busy world. Moon Rising behind gnarled tree is a stunning piece of dot art painted by Catherine in 2013. Her beautiful use of dots and colors creates a calm, peaceful scene that is almost meditative look at and admire.

10 Miami Beach, William Betts

Source: William Betts

William Betts, a talented American applies Pointillism is his artworks. However, Betts takes a more modern approach to Pointillism, using state-of-the-art software and a CNC machine to bring his art to life. His work includes a range of pointillistic art that depicts CCTV footage, an ode to the somewhat intrusive nature of our modern tech-savvy world. The above piece, Miami Beach, was created in 2013 and uses Pointillism to bring this beach scene to life. Just looking at it makes us want to jump on a plane and relax on the beach in Florida!

11 Gyre, Chris Jordan

Source: Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan’s incredibly powerful piece, ‘Gyre,' is inspired by Hokusai’s great wave and sends a strong message about pollution. Chris used 2.4 million pieces of plastic to create this piece of artwork, all collected from the Pacific Ocean. It is equal to the amount of plastic that enters the world’s oceans every hour, a truly disappointing fact. Not only has Chris created a stunning piece of artwork using the Pointillism technique, but we hope his message will also contribute to creating change in our quest for a cleaner world.

12 Dragon, Ryuzo Satake

Source: Ryuzo Satake

Japanese artist, Ryuzo Satake uses myth and imagination as his inspiration for his Pointillistic artwork. His piece, Dragon, which he created in 2016, was designed to challenge the audience by created a blur between his art and his audience. He uses mythology in his work, believing that there is another power at work trying to speak to us. He uses his art to reflect this other force, creating some stunning, thought provoking pieces.

13 Emma, Chuck Close

Source: Chuck Close

Born in the state of Washington in the USA, Chuck Close is known as one of the world’s leading modern artists. Chuck typically begins with a photograph of a face, before starting a reconstruction using grids, a form of Pointillistic art. What makes Chuck’s art even more remarkable is the fact that he had to learn to reuse his hands after a spinal infection left him with quadriplegia in 1988. The piece above, titled ‘Emma,' was made in collaboration with Japanese artist Yasu Shibata and took more than 18 months to complete.

14. The Wind, the wind, Christian Faur

Source: Christian Faur

Christian Faur’s Crayon Art is a stunning use of Pointillism. Created in 2007, this piece is almost unrecognizable when viewed up close. But stand back and the image of a boy appears, thanks to the carefully placed crayon blocks. You get a feeling of nostalgia when you view ‘The Wind, the wind,' as you are reminded of your first box of crayons from way back when you were a child. Christian uses some modern techniques and programs to create his art, which leads to some very impressive works of art.

15 Manhattan Pigeon, Angelo Franco

Source: Angelo Franco

Angelo Franco was born in Ecuador, before moving to the United States at the age of 19. He studied in New York and had been painting for more than thirty years. His piece featured here, titled ‘Manhattan Pigeon,' was painted in 2012 and uses the Pointillism technique wonderfully. He apparently found his inspiration for the piece from the millions of pigeons found flying around New York City. This pigeon is beautiful, colorful, and welcoming, as Angelo has used Pointillism perfectly to capture the essence of this creature.

16 Antibes, the Pink Cloud, Paul Signac

Source: Paul Signac

This stunning piece of Pointillistic art captures a fantastic scene that includes a small boat of a calm body of water, with the red and yellow sun-kissed sky reflecting on the water below. It was created by world-renowned artists Paul Signac in 1916, and is a classic and timeless piece of Pointillistic art. In fact, Signac worked very closely with Geroges Seurat - the originator of Pointillism - helping to form the style of Pointillism. This stunning piece of art can be found today in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.

17 Flower Season, Phan Thu Trang

Source: Phan Thu Trang

Vietnamese artists Phan Thu Trang uses Pointillism to create stunning artwork of Vietnam landscapes. She uses beautiful colors in her work, and as seen above her use of purples and greens bring this stunning field to life. Phan’s work is quite remarkable, and you could catch yourself staring at her artwork with admiration and appreciation for hours.

18 Dotwork, Yuriy Skorohod

Source: Yuiry Skorohod

Yuriy Skorohod is a talented artist from Minsk, Belarus, who uses Pointillism in his artwork. He uses a technique called dotwork, drawing on paper using millions of little dots. He often works on many projects including album covers and tattoos. This friendly hippopotamus is an excellent example of the quality and detail found in Yuriy’s work.

19 Sunlight, William Wilkins

Source: William Wilkins

William Wilkins was born in 1938 in Kersey, Suffolk, a small village in the East of England. He developed a pointillistic technique that can be found in a lot of his artwork today. The above piece, titled ‘Sunlight,' encompasses his pointillistic talent perfectly, with a clever use of greens and browns to create a forest setting. The level of depth and detail in the trees alone is worthy of high praise.

20 Obama, Kevin Sprouls

Source: Kevin Sprouls

Kevin Sprouls was commissioned by Harper’s in 2016 to create their front cover for their latest issue. He has also worked for companies like Forbes, Fortune, GQ, Sports Illustrated and Time magazines, creating covers and illustrations for many different occasions. For this piece, he used President Obama as inspiration and used Pointillistic art to create a beautiful piece as a tribute to the outgoing President. His simple but detailed approach to Pointillism results in exquisite illustrations.

21 Forest Witch, Sandro Freitas

Source: Sandro Freitas

Sandro Freitas is a very talented artist from Brazil. He uses Pointillism in his highly-detailed, captivating artwork. This piece, titled ‘Forest Witch,' goes into stunning detail and can be admired for hours. It is astonishing to think that this illustration is made up entirely of dots. The wisdom and years captured in the Witch’s eyes and the wrinkled face are truly stunning, as is the level of depth in the feathers beneath the Witch’s face. This is, without a doubt, one of our favorites and a genuinely beautiful piece of Pointillistic art.

22 Surreal Tattoos, Ilya Brezinski

Source: Ilya Brezinski

A popular form of Pointillism is Tattoo work. Tattooing uses small dots from a Tattoo gun to create body art that is the most common form of Pointillism in modern times. Ilya Brezinski, who is based in St Petersburg, Russia, uses dotwork in his 3D, often surreal tattoos. As you can see from the incredible detail and high-quality of the above image, he is a sought after tattooist, creating stunning body art.

23 Pointillism by Casa Nova

Source: Casa Nova

When you first look at this incredible piece of artwork by Canadian-based Casa Nova, it just seems like a regular painting or photograph. On closer inspection, you’ll be amazed to see that he, in fact, uses a series of dots to create this stunning piece. Viewed up close, the amount of detail is remarkable, delivering a stunning experience for anyone that views it. This illustration is an excellent example of Pointillistic art, by a very talented artist.

24 Aboriginal Art, Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri

Source: Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri

Aboriginal Art, made famous by Indigenous Australians, is probably one of the oldest forms of Pointillism. This beautiful art is unique in that every piece of Aboriginal Art tells a wonderful and important story - symbolic and meaningful depiction of pointillism! Warlimpirrnga was born in Mackay, Queensland, in the 1950’s, and has produced many beautiful pieces of artwork.

25 Spots, Damien Hirst

Source: Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst is an artist born in the UK in 1965. His spots paintings are an interesting take on Pointillism and provide what is almost an optical illusion when viewed. The carefully constructed pattern of colors conveys a unique and beautiful display of color. Using the ‘joy of color’ as inspiration, Damien has created a piece that is stunningly beautiful while being a perfect example of modernistic pointillism.

26 Nature morte aux fruis et possins, Albert Dubois-Pillet

Source: Albert Dubois - Pillet

This classic piece of Pointillistic art was painted by Albert Dubois-Pillet in 1885. The stunning detail in the fruit and fish makes this setting come to life. With a carefully designed series of dots adding color and beauty, this painting is a classic and timeless piece of Pointillism. Albert’s work is often referred to as traditional Pointillism, and it’s easy to see why when looking at this beautiful piece.

27 Mad Hatter, Ben Heine

Source: Ben Heine

Ben Heine is a very talented Belgian artist who was originally born in the Ivory Coast. He uses an original form of Pointillism which he calls ‘Digital Circlism’, as he creates detailed illustrations of celebrities such as Eminem and Elvis Presley. He uses a sharp round brush in Photoshop CS4 to create the series of circles that make up the incredibly moving portraits. Ben has created a brand new form of Pointillism and judging by the quality of his work; we expect the style to grow in popularity.

28. Cross Connecting, Ton Dubbeldam

Source: Ton Dubbeldam

Ton Dubbeldam was born in Holland in 1957. His grandfather was a painter, and his father was a musician, so it comes as no surprise that Ton developed a great talent for art. Ton uses the Pointillism technique in many of his oil paintings, and the one featured here is one of the most beautiful examples. The cool colors showcased in the detail in this piece are beautiful and complement each other well.

29 Cloud Study, Roy Lichtenstein

Source: Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein was born in New York City in 1923. His piece here, called ‘Cloud Study,' is often referred to now as Pop Art but also uses forms of Pointillism. The network is evident in this piece, making it an interesting take on the classic Pointillism art. His extensive work with Pop Art has made him famous, but we also appreciate the subtle uses of Pointillism found in his work.

30 Yellow Pumpkin, Yayoi Kusama

Source: Yayoi Kusama

The Yellow Pumpkin is an incredible piece of Pointillistic art created by Yayoi Kusama in 1992. Her clever use of colors and dots produce a captivating piece. Yayoi is now acknowledged as one of the most prominent artistic figures from Japan. She also creates Pop Art typically but using forms of Pointillism throughout her work. The Yellow Pumpkin features some Pointillistic characteristics and is more than worthy of a place on our list.

Are you looking for an artist?

Hiring an artist can be a great way to create stunning designs for your marketing, business or personal needs! You artworks can showcase your best designs andcolour combinations, whether it be in the form ofgraffiti ordrawings.

Simplypost a project on Freelancer and you'll receive bids from our talented experts in just seconds!

Powerful, Engaging Copywriting That Makes the Reader Take Action!
Are you looking for effective copywriting that leads to more views, subscribers, and sales? If so, I can help you!
Recently, a client needed copy for their app description that would help increase their download numbers. With great copy, their downloads increased by more than 200%!
Or are you looking for blog posts and articles t...